Bartenders charged after train kills man

Two workers at a downtown Belmont bar have been charged with serving alcohol to an intoxicated man who was killed on a nearby train track a short while later.

Two workers at a downtown Belmont bar have been charged with serving alcohol to an intoxicated man who was killed on a nearby train track a short while later.

Police say further charges stemming from liability of the man’s death could be forthcoming. But the owner of JAX Backstreet Tavern said he doesn’t believe his staff could have done anything to prevent what happened.

“It’s a horrible situation all the way around, but we feel confident we didn’t do anything wrong,” said Nick LaVecchia. “To me, it all seems like a tragic, terrible accident.”

Michael Eugene Peters, 53, of 306 Greenwood Place, near Cramerton, died when he was struck by an Amtrak train around 3 a.m. Sept. 16, about 600 yards west of the Belmont branch of the Gaston County Library. Authorities believe he had fallen asleep or passed out while sitting on the tracks when the train — bound from New York to New Orleans — was unable to stop in time.

Investigators learned Peters had been drinking before the accident at JAX, located on Glenway Street. They obtained video from a surveillance camera inside the bar and saw that Peters was there that night.

N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement officers have charged Regina Estelle LaVecchia, 42, of Belmont and Alice Pratt Rhyne, 25, of Cramerton with one count each of selling alcohol to an intoxicated person. Regina LaVecchia is the manager of the tavern and restaurant, and Nick LaVecchia’s wife; Rhyne is a bartender.

Police account disputed

Video from the train showed Peters sitting on the tracks alone. The engineer blew the horn and tried to stop, but was unable to, Franklin said.

Police confirmed Peters had left JAX sometime around 2 a.m. that Sunday. Camera footage showed him sitting at the bar and being served before leaving, Franklin said.

An investigation revealed that Peters had been “cut off” by another bartender that night, but that Rhyne “served him anyway,” Franklin said. Regina LaVecchia was charged along with Rhyne because she was the manager on duty that night, he said.

Authorities are still waiting for a toxicology report to confirm Peters’ blood alcohol content at the time he died. Depending on the results, further charges may be filed against LaVecchia and Rhyne, and possibly the business, Franklin said.

The camera footage also showed a huge brawl that occurred at the bar that night and involved 40 to 50 people, Franklin said. The fight spilled out onto a side patio and into the parking lot, though Peters did not appear to be involved in any way, Franklin said.

Nick LaVecchia was not there that night, but said the police account is “inaccurate.” He said his staff told him Peters was not only involved in the altercation, but that he was part of the reason it started.

“Then (staff) saw him being questioned afterward by police,” Nick LaVecchia said. “The last we heard, he ended up on the tracks and we all know what happened after that.”

Peters was a regular at the restaurant who all the bartenders knew, LaVecchia said. He had already closed out his tab that night, but then reopened another tab to buy a round for himself and several other people, he said.

“Alice did not do anything wrong in that aspect,” LaVecchia said.

Question of liability

In an unrelated incident, N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement officers reviewing the footage noticed that Rhyne was drinking alcohol at the bar after hours, against state law. She was charged with two counts of consuming a mixed alcoholic beverage there after 2:30 a.m., and two counts of selling an alcoholic beverage after 2 a.m.

LaVecchia was charged with one count of selling/consuming alcohol on the premises after hours, due to being the manager.

Rhyne has been fired for that, Nick LaVecchia said.

Both women were released from the Gaston County Jail on unsecured bonds over the weekend. They have an Oct. 18 court date.

Franklin said fights and other problems at JAX that require police to respond are a regular occurrence, particularly late on Friday and Saturday nights.

“It’s constant, every weekend,” he said. “Ever since they opened it’s been constant.”

Nick LaVecchia said those issues are due to problems with security personnel sometimes not showing up for work or quitting without notice. If anything, he said he wishes there had been better security at the tavern Sept. 16.

But he doesn’t think JAX or its staff should be held responsible for Peters’ death.

“I don’t have any control over what happens when someone leaves the restaurant,” he said. “I think there’s a lot more information that will come out once Alice has her day in court.”

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or twitter.com/GazetteMike.